PERSONAL NARRATIVE

My scholastic media experience has involved a lot of work in many different aspects of the newspaper. The areas in which I have worked are copy, social media, writing, and business. 

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As a copy staffer, I have to edit all of the work created in my class. Then, as head copy editor, I have to edit all of the content produced by the publication across all of the class periods. These works include articles, captions, social media posts, briefs, and more. My experience editing these pieces has been positive overall. Throughout the year, I spent time reading and annotating chapters of the AP Stylebook, which helped with my copy editing. Also, by sending the pieces that I edited to my copy editor (Jeremiah), I was able to see the edits I missed to make sure I catch them the next time. As head copy editor, though, I went through more editing and leadership training through watching TED Talks and doing Media Now training. In addition, I have created some copy presentations for the staff, which have contributed to my deeper understanding of copy skills. Editing so many pieces for The Muse has helped my copy editing become more efficient and thorough. Even though I struggled slightly at the beginning of my time on The Muse with editing, I worked hard and practiced a lot to improve my editing abilities. 

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Although I have been a part of the copy section my entire time on the publication, I have also helped with social media. I did a social media post almost every week during my sophomore year in categories such as outfits of the day, teacher spotlights, and sports team spotlights. Although I did not expect to do anything with social media when I joined the newspaper staff, I was able to explore an area of The Muse about which I did not know much by going out, interviewing people, and taking photos. In addition, it has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone because I am more comfortable with copy editing than creating Instagram posts. As a junior, I made social media posts every now and then to alleviate some of the stress from the PR section and have fun with some short content. 

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Even though I have not yet written any articles for The Muse, I have written briefs. I enjoy writing, so being required to write briefs during my sophomore year allowed me to report on smaller stories that do not need to be told in the newspaper in long articles. Writing these briefs has helped me maintain my journalistic writing skills without having to take too much time writing a more detailed story. 

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As a part of The Muse, I have to get 100 business points every month. To get these points, I have gone to businesses to try to persuade them to purchase advertisements and asked family and friends to purchase subscriptions and make donations to The Muse. Approaching local businesses gave me experience in acting professionally and helped me work on how to communicate a sales and marketing pitch to people. 

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In my future high school years, I hope to continue developing my journalistic skills. I achieved my goal of becoming the head copy editor in my junior year, which has taught me a lot about managing my time and work as well as developing leadership skills. Even though I did not get the position I hoped for for my senior year, being head copy editor again will help me sharpen my copy editing skills even further and have a more balanced year for my last year of high school. Additionally, I want to write more articles and report on topics that are important to me and to my community. After high school, I would like to continue in the field of journalism in some way, but I am not sure yet if journalism will be my focus. 

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Overall, my scholastic media experience has had many ups and downs. At the beginning of my sophomore year, it was stressful and a lot more work than I expected coming in as a copy staffer to The Muse. For example, I struggled at the beginning because I had to learn how to write social media posts correctly, how to approach businesses, and how to edit copy specifically to The Muse’s style. Then, as a junior, I had to take on the extra responsibilities that came with being an editor on the publication. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed my experience working in many areas of The Muse, and I have improved greatly.